Miss Flappy Bird? Here are some great alternatives

Flappy Birds will no longer be available after its creator said he was taking it down (Picture: Google Play)

We are gathered here today to mourn the passing of Flappy Bird, which sadly left the world of apps this weekend. Survived by a multitude of shameless clones, everyone’s favourite – if infuriating – distraction bit the dust after it drove its creator potty.

Having been pulled from mobile stores after Vietnamese developer Nguyen Ha Dong stated on Twitter that he couldn’t ‘take this anymore‘, it’s left some pretty big shoes to fill. Luckily enough for those of us who didn’t jump on the bandwagon in time, we’re not short of alternatives…

Few games are as infectiously jolly as Tiny Wings. A close analogue to Flappy Bird, this iOS classic was a hit for good reason. Plagued by a similar lack of flying skills, the only way for its cute hero to reach the sky is by sliding along ramp-like hills. Controlled by a single touch, holding the screen will drop your bird like a stone while releasing will send them shooting upward. The key is to fall at the right moment to maximise speed, and your only objective is to get as far as possible before night catches up. It’s a relaxing change of pace.

Buoyed by pastel colours and a cheerful soundtrack, Tiny Wings has all of Flappy Bird’s addictive gameplay without any of its stress. With a split-screen multiplayer mode also available on iPad, this is a must-have app everyone should try.

It’s rare for a game to be so creepy and outright beautiful at the same time. A cross between indie platformer Limbo and Valve’s own Portal, Badland is reminiscent of Flappy Bird but also packs highly imaginative design to shake up the formula. Putting you in control of a cute winged monster, you’ll tap to flutter through 40 levels’ worth of traps which aim to slice, mash or crush you in a variety of creative ways. Watched over by robots lurking in the (utterly gorgeous) background, each obstacle will become steadily more bonkers until your character is being cloned or turned into a bouncy rubber ball at frequent intervals.

There’s little wonder Badland walked away with Apple’s iPad game of the year award in 2013: it’s genuinely superb.

How do you fancy being the world’s only shotgun-toting fisherman? If you’re after something new now that Flappy Bird has been put to pasture, you’d be hard-pushed to beat Ridiculous Fishing: A Tale of Redemption. Amusing and addictive in equal measure, this bizarre treasure is the sort which makes delays in your commute a pleasure. After guiding a fishing lure down to the bottom of the ocean, hitting a fish or reaching the end of your line kicks things into reverse as you try to snag as many unfortunate creatures as possible. Then things go bonkers. When your catch explodes out of the water, you must blast them into smithereens with the weapon of your choice for points.

Intuitive, accessible and deeply re-playable, this is a masterpiece of mobile gaming. It helps that the developers clearly have a sense of humour; aside from some crazy guns to unlock, increasingly weird power-ups make this a memorable experience. Better still, a variety of stages mean that it has the longevity to match.

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